Globe profit jumps on data, subscriber gains

Globe Telecom, the largest mobile operator in the Philippines, recorded strong profit and data growth in 2018 as it continued to expand its mobile subscriber base.

The operator’s net income increased 21.5 per cent year-on-year to PHP18.6 billion ($357 million), on consolidated service revenue of PHP133 billion, which rose 3.9 per cent.

Excluding the impact of a move to a new accounting standard, service revenue totaled PHP140.2 billion, up 10 per cent year-on-year. Globe Telecom said the revenue growth was driven by data-related services across all business segments.

Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe Telecom (pictured) said: “We are proud of what we have achieved in 2018 both in terms of financials and network expansion. We will continue to build our network capacities to improve the internet experience as we re-invest our gains back to our network, which is now close to 33 per cent of our revenues, to be able to deliver a differentiated level of customer service.”

Data growth
Based on the previous accounting method (pre-PFRS), mobile revenue grew 9 per cent year-on-year to PHP107 billion. Mobile data jumped 28 per cent to PHP43.1 billion and continued to be the top contributor to the company’s mobile business, representing 51 per cent of gross service revenue compared with 44 per cent in 2017. Mobile voice and SMS revenue both continued to fall, down 6 per cent to PHP30.3 billion and 8 per cent to PHP21.3 billion respectively.

The operator added 13.4 million subscribers in 2018, taking its total to 74.1 million at end-December and giving it a 53 per cent market share. Its home broadband subscriber base grew 24 per cent year-on-year to 1.6 million, with home wireless subscribers accounting for about 61 per cent of the total.

Capex increased 1.9 per cent to PHP43.3 billion and is forecast to increase 45 per cent to PHP63 billion in 2019, with 80 per cent to be allocated to data-related requirements.

Author

Joseph Waring

Joseph Waring joins Mobile World Live as the Asia editor for its new Asia channel. Before joining the GSMA, Joseph was group editor for Telecom Asia for more than ten years. In addition to writing features, news and blogs, he...